


Sleepless Nights With You

by Bunnypanda018



Category: Gray - Fandom, Juvia - Fandom, gruvia - Fandom
Genre: 6 months, F/M, Gajuvia brotp, Gruvia - Freeform, Home, Hot Cocoa, Late Night Talk, Living Together, cozy night in, guild disband, one year apart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:02:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29528904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bunnypanda018/pseuds/Bunnypanda018
Summary: “Uhhh!” Juvia slumped forward on her rustically charming desk. “Another return to sender,” she thought. Looking at the bent up letter which had started to lose its ivory appearance, her mind wandered back to a breezy fall day in autumn just before all hell broke loose for fairy tail. He promised...we were supposed to go together..........“Oh, well Juvia still can’t sleep, but she doesn’t want to disturb you”......... “Don’t be silly. I want...I mean I’ll stay up with you.In which a restless night takes a sweet and joyful turn.
Relationships: Gray Fullbuster & Juvia Lockser, Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser, Juvia Lockser/Gajeel Redfox
Kudos: 6





	Sleepless Nights With You

“Uhhh!” Juvia slumped forward on her rustically charming desk. _“Another return to sender,”_ she thought. Looking at the bent up letter which had started to lose its ivory appearance, her mind wandered back to a breezy fall day in autumn just before all hell broke loose for fairy tail. _He promised...we were supposed to go together._ “NOW WHO’S GOING TO FREAK WITH JUVIA!!”

Quickly, she covered her mouth. Juvia prayed that her cry of frustration, in the dead of night, would not wake her beloved, especially after his grueling day of training. Not that Juvia also didn’t take her part in training, but to be fair, she always did have a boundless amount of energy that was just waiting to be released after 17 lonely years in the gloomy rain. Her years of solem, soul crushing sadness were over thanks to that fateful day she met her handsome ice prince. From that moment on, she would forever love him for showing her that shred of kindness, which is why disturbing Gray's well deserved rest was so heart wrenching for her.

With the absence of a door being slammed open, she let out a sigh of relief and laid her head on the desk. Her moment of content was soon interrupted by her thoughts of her upheaved life from months prior. Even though she loved living with Gray, which involved being in such close quarters with him, she still missed the joy from her old life: the fun she had teasing Love Rival, the shenanigans Natsu and Happy would pull in the guild., the out-of-hand brawls, and the back and forth between Levy and Gajeel.

Before she even realized it, the air around her had become damp and moist. Coming back to her senses before the weather got too out of hand, she got up and made her way to the kitchen. The least she could do was try to keep herself busy for the rest of the night.

On her way, she made a small detour to the outside of Gray’s room. The door was shut, but Juvia warmly thought about going inside. _“Sleeping next to Gray-sama will definitely help Juvia go to sleep,”_ she thought as she clasped her cheeks and traveled to Juvia land. However, just as she touched the door knob, she quickly retracted her prying hands. “ _I better not.”_ she thought as she remembered the previous nights Gray had kicked her out. Instead, she put her ear near the door, as she had done countless other times, and listened for any sounds of disturbance to only be disappointed by the accompanying silence. “ _Oh, good. No nightmares tonight,”_ she thought in relief.

Making her way back to the kitchen, she felt a draft of cold air wisp past her. Immediately, she began shivering in the cold. As much as she loved Gray, Juvia hated how he had to make every room in the house as cool as his magic. Her eyes lit up as she made her way to the kitchen cupboards. Hot Cocoa ...that is exactly the thing she needs to keep her occupied. Putting a sauce pan filled with milk on low heat, she waited for it to come to a boil before adding in some chocolate and some cinnamon. The aroma that filled up the room could make anyone stir from sleep just for the taste.

Pouring the piping hot concoction in her lilac colored cup, she sat down at the kitchen table with anticipation. Just as she was about to have the first sip of her drink, she heard a “Woosh.” “ _IT’S COLD!!,”_ Juvia exclaimed, taken aback _._ This was not what she had in mind for an enjoyable evening considering restless and uneasy night she’d had.

“Seriously Gray-sama. It wouldn’t hurt you to turn up the heat!!”

“I’m not Flame Brain. I need the cold for my magic,” said a groggy voice nearby.

“But Juvia does no….eh?” stopped a perplexed Juvia. “AHHHHHH!”

“Calm down Juvia! I almost finally fell asleep.” said the shirtless man as he rose up from the couch he had been sleeping on.

“I’m sorry, Gray-sama, but you scared Juvia.” she said while catching her breath. “I didn’t mean to wake you,” she continued as a look of guilt spread across her eyes.

“Oi, don’t get so worked up about it. I was kidding.”

“Oh, alright. Well, why are you here? Was it the nightmares?”

“Yeah, I was having some night...wait. How do you know?”

“Heh Heh... I may or may not have heard you talking in your sleep.”

“You shouldn't go listening to people in their sleep!” said a now faintly blushing Gray as he sat up on the couch with his arms crossed.

“S-Sorry,” Juvia replied back meekly.

Seeing her slight embarrassment, Gray replied, “At least it’s better than you sneaking into my room.”

“True. And Juvia doesn’t do it that often. Just maybe two or three times a week,” she said piping up.

Dropping a sweat, Gray muttered, “Two or three times a week.”

Before he could say anything more, Juvia cut him off. “How about something warm? It will help you sleep.”

“Juvia, you don’t have to. I can manage on my own.”

“DENIED! I’m here and awake so let me help you. I’m not taking no for an answer”

“I-In that case, maybe I’ll have some of that hot cocoa you were making.” he said as he recalled the homely aroma of a delicious blend of spices.

“Hai!!” Juvia said as she sped off to quickly make the drink. In just a few moments, she was back with two freshly made, extra piping hot drinks (just to make sure the cold draft didn’t mess with the drinks again). “Here’s your drink, Gray-sama,” she said as she stood in front of the couch wearing one of her brightest smiles that was sure to make any cold heart melt.

As he reached out to grab his drink, Gray paused. “You know you didn’t have to make two drinks for me, right?” he asked while smirking.

“Silly Gray, this drink is for me. I learned my mistake after the tea incident.”

“Who drinks 10 glasses of tea?!” Gray remarked as he once again sweatdropped. _I kinda wanted the 2nd drink,”_ Gray thought but would never admit. Another cold draft blew into the room making Juvia shiver once more. Taking notice of this, Gray grabbed his blanket and offered it to Juvia.

“Oh, I couldn’t, Gray-sama. You were using it. I’ll be fine.”

“You’re too kind for your own good,” Gray said as he thought about how he could stop Juvia’s self sacrifice which would probably lead to her having a cold. “ _I’m only doing this so she won’t be out of it in Training tomorrow!”_ Gray reasoned with himself, though deep down he must’ve known it was for something else. “How about we share the blanket.”

“JUVI!!” Juvia squealed as she let herself get immersed in her imagination again.

Before she could get too far, she somehow stopped herself. “Wow, I didn’t think you could actually ever not go to Juvi land,” Gray remarked.

“Unlike how you were unable to not strip your clothes tonight,” Juvia teased back.

“Ahgh.” he yelled as he scrambled to get them. Juvia only giggled as she watched the scene, holding onto the two drinks.

After a few moments, the two were finally able to relax on the couch while enjoying their drinks.

“How is it, Gray-sama?”

“It’s surprisingly great ...Not that your usual food isn’t.”

“I hope so. I picked up the chocolate a few months back when we were traveling through the north.”

“Oh, that’s why it tasted so much like my mothers’,” Gray said softly between his breath.

“What was that, my beloved?”

“Nothing.”

Sitting in a comfortable silence, they sipped away their drinks when all of a sudden, Juvia noticed the fireplace had been lit. “Gray-sama, when did you-”

“-Light up the fire. I did it when I was searching for my clothes. I didn’t want to be an ass to you, especially since you obviously didn’t like how cold it was,” he said, referencing to their meeting tonight.

“Right….” Juvia said as she trailed off. “That reminds me, is the hot chocolate helping at all?”

“Well, it isn’t helping my sleep, but it does help calm me down,” Gray said while wistfully thinking.

“I don’t know if it would help, but you can always talk to me about your nightmares.” she said as she reached for Gray’s hand to give it a comforting squeeze.

Gray released a long sigh as he decided that he just might follow her suggestion. “Well, I was thinking about my dad…” It felt like Juvia had just been hit in the stomach. _Of course he was thinking of Silver-sama_. “I..I don’t know. It’s just, every time I try to go to sleep, I go back to the night of Deliora’s attack.” Gray started choking up as he continued recalling, “I see his dead corpse against my moms’. I then see Keyes as that bastard rips him from his peace. I remember trying to run and stop him only to have my dad tearfully attack me. I tried so hard to save him, but I just couldn’t.” Tears started streaming down his face as his voice faltered off.

Still looking down at her lap, Juvia remained unusually quiet. The now uncomfortable tension was broken as Juvia painedly said, “I’m sorry.” She continued saying, “It’s all my fault you lost another one of your loved ones. If I hadn’t killed him….”

“Stop!” Gray said in surprise of her drop in 3rd person narrative, causing Juvia to flinch. “What the hell are you talking about. You saved him.” Juvia looked up in confusion. “Look, I can never thank you enough. You freed him from that sick and twisted joke of a 2nd life. You let him go back to my mom.”

“But at the cost of you having a dad,” Juvia said as her eyes were filled with tears. It was now Gray’s turn to hold Juvia’s hands as he brought them up to his and stared intensely into her watery eyes.

“My dad had his time. This was just torture for him. He...He needed to be freed, and I couldn’t do it. I, I failed him as a son, but you were able to do the one thing I couldn’t.” A few moments passed as he reassuringly stared into Juvia’s eyes until he realized the romantic position they were in. Quickly retracting his hands, he put them behind his neck as he sheepishly said, “And anyways, if it’s anyone’s fault, it would be Deliora’s and END.”

Confused about her lack of reaction, he slowly tried to take a glance at Juvia. When their eyes met, she said, “Gray-sama, you are definitely not a failure, especially in Juvia’s eyes. Those marks on your arms are proof of that,” she said as she pointed at his devil markings. “Your dad passed down the mantle to you because only you can defeat END. He believes in you. When someone has faith in you, how can that be a sign of a failure?” Juvia continued while holding the brightest and most comforting smile she could possible muster.

_Geez, what a strong woman_

Now that his face was the color of Erza’s hair, and his mind for some unknown reason completely reassured about his nightmares, Gray was desperate for any conversation changer to stop the immense beating of his heart.

Quickly looking away into the fireplace, he lifted his cup and said, “That’s right, I never asked why you are up?”

“Same as you. I couldn’t sleep.”

“Was it because you had no one to ‘Freak’ with you?” Gray said as he leaned in towards Juvia with his signature smirk.

Heat started rising up Juvia’s face. “YOU HEARD THAT?! Gray sama, you meanie,” she said as she began lightly hitting him in the chest while he started chuckling.

_It’s nice how she’s not turning into water right now_

“Anyways, what was that about?”

“Ummm...well, you see,” Juvia said as she pouted and played with her fingers. “Don’t think Juvia’s weird, but...it is about the rock metal band Iron Rose.”

“Rock...Metal? You listen to that stuff!?” Gray repeated in confusion. Juvia only confirmed this as she clasped her cheeks and squealed thinking about the band. “Wait, isn’t that the stuff metal head listen to?”

“First off, his name is Gajeel-kun,” Juvia said blatantly. “Secondly, yes. He and Juvia have the same great taste in music.”

_“It’s not that great,”_ Gray thought with a frown. “So, what about it?”

“Well, a couple months ago, Gajeel and I heard they were doing a Fiore tour and are supposed to be coming to magnolia next week. And, well, we’ve never missed a show. He said he didn’t have enough jewels to go, so Juvia was going to surprise him with tickets to the show.”

“It kinda sounds like a ...date,” Gray let past through clenched teeth as he took another sip of the cocoa.

“EXACTLY!” This made Gray spit out his cocoa in surprise. “It’s a date to always go to at least one concert a year. So, I tried writing him a letter to let him know, along with sending him his ticket. But everytime, I think I know where he is, I will send the letter, and poof! It gets sent back to me.”

Gray sighed in relief as he stripped his shirt. “I didn’t know you were that close,” he said with a ping of jealousy in his tone.

Juvia brought her knees close to her as she adorned a melancholic expression. “You know, Gray-sama, as much as I love Iron Rose, I mostly loved going to the concerts since it reminded me of when I got my first friend, even with the..depressing rain.”

“What do you mean?” Gray asked as he sensed her sadness.

“Well, when Juvia was younger, and she had no one, she remembers walking back to the orphanage. By then it had been completely abandoned. As Juvia was a block away, she saw a little boy with an unkempt appearance being held up by an older man wearing a black mask. It appeared like he was trying to get the bag the older man held up in his other hand. Juvia couldn’t just stand and do nothing, so she quickly ran up and put him in a water lock. When the man was unconscious, she helped the little boy up, but he wouldn’t take it. He wouldn’t even say thank you till Juvia duped him into it."

“Wow, what a shrimp.”

Juvia giggled. “It’s funny that you say that since that ‘shrimp’ was a mini Gajeel.” Gray’s jaw dropped as he also chuckled at that revelation. “Well, it turned out that the bag contained tickets to a certain rock metal band. And as soon as Juvia saw it, she forced that mini kid to take her to the concert as well. Of course, it was only possible with a little reluctance on his side and some blackmail on hers once she figured out he was from phantom lord.” Juvia boasted.

“Nice,” Gray remarked.

“Well, from then on, Juvia regularly met Gajeel-kun on her own travels and even accompanied him on some missions and even more concerts. He wouldn’t admit it, but Juvia and he quickly became friends. It was because of him that Master Jose allowed Juvia to join the guild with open arms,” she concluded.

Taking a moment to process everything, Gray stared off into the distance only to be interrupted by Juvia who now had streams of tears running down her face. “And now he’s leaving Juvia all alone again. And Juvia hates to be alone,” she said as she stared out the window.

“Because of the rain, right?” Gray asked. Juvia nodded her head. “Well, at least you’re not alone now. I mean, I’m here, right?”

“Yeah, and you gave Juvia the best gift of all. Joy, kindness, and most of all, escape from the rain that kept Juvia lonely for so long,” she replied back as she longingly gazed at Gray.

“...yeah” Gray said shyly as they both stared back off into the lit up fireplace which was once again surrounded by comforting silence as they finished off the last of their cocoa.

.

.

.

“Oh, that reminds Juvia...Gray-sama, YOUR CLOTHES!” she squealed while blushing.

“FUCK, not again,” he said as he rushed to get his clothes once more. Once he finished and returned to the couch, Juvia turned to him and smiled.”

“Hopefully this wasn’t too draining and you get some good sleep. Juvia will be going now and let you rest.” As she got up, stretching and began to walk away, she felt a tug on her night gown.

“Why, what will you be doing?” he asked knowing her too well to know what her answer would be.

“Oh, well Juvia still can’t sleep, but she doesn’t want to disturb you anymore since you’re starting to look a bit drowsy.”

“Don’t be silly. I want...I mean I’ll stay up with you,” he said as Juvia blushed in surprise.

“You will?”

“Yeah...uh..well..you’ll be too sleepy to be at your full strength to fight me tomorrow.”

“Oh, right,” Juvia said with a bit of dismay, but still happy that Gray wanted to spend more time with her. She immediately jumped back onto the couch. “Well then, what should we talk about? Or should we play a game? We could also do something more rated,” she said while grinning like a cheshire cat.

“Keep your fantasies to yourself! Although, we could play a game of strip poker,” Gray replied with an intense blush.

“No way, Gray-sama. Juvia always loses. And anyways, Juvia’s not wearing too many layers right now,” she said with her cheeks puffed out.

“How is that any different from what you suggested. Don’t you have to shed layers then too?”

“Hehe...well, Juvia’s not a professional stripper like you.”

“Yeah, that’s true. But you are the better prankster, Miss Champion of pranks...you better not tell anyone I lost.”

“Yeah, those prank wars were good. Natsu-san would love to hear about it one day.”

* * *

_“Wow, she finally fell asleep. Who knew she looked so peaceful in the moonlight,”_ Gray thought as he stared at the goddess like figure resting her head on his shoulder. _Man, I’m never going to admit I watch you in your sleep too. It helps me calm myself from the one nightmare I can’t tell you about._ Gray then reached out to stroke Juvia’s fallen hair. “We’ve changed a lot huh,” Gray chuckled to himself. “Well, at least one thing hasn’t: the fact that you’re always by my side.” He paused when Juvia began to stir in her sleep and she let out the three words that never ceased to fill his heart with happiness.

“I love you, Gray-sama”

.

.

.

“I love you too, Juvia.”


End file.
